Theme 9: Global partnershipTheme 9: Global partnership

The EU renewed its Sustainable Development Strategy (EU SDS) in 2006, setting out global poverty and sustainable development challenges as key priorities.

Targets under the EU SDS focus on promoting sustainable development actively worldwide and ensure that the European Union's internal and external policies are consistent with global sustainable development and its international commitments.

Population with sustainable access to an improved water source (external link)

Contextual indicators

Official development assistance per inhabitant (for sub-theme financing for SD)

Key trends (2015 monitoring)

Most of the trends observed in global partnership are positive, however, the EU is not on track to reach its target on official development assistance (ODA).

Although the EU is the world’s largest donor, it is not on track to meet its long-standing target of dedicating 0.7 % of its gross national income (GNI) to ODA in 2015, since the share only increased by 0.07 percentage points to reach 0.41 % in 2014.

The share of ODA for low-income countries shows a favourable trend, particularly in the short term, reaching 50 % of ODA in 2014.

The share of untied assistance is continuously increasing, amounting to almost 97 % in 2014.

Between 1990 and 2010, the share of the world’s population living with less than USD 1.25 per day shrank from 36.4 % in 1990 to 14.5 % in 2011.

The share of developing country imports in overall EU imports increased over the evaluation period, reaching 18.6 % in 2014.

Imports from least-developed countries increased particularly strongly, while still only amounting to 2.27 % in 2014.

Between 2000 and 2011 the EU significantly reduced subsidies considered to be trade-distorting under the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Agriculture to EUR 6.9 billion, far below the WTO ceiling of EUR 72.2 billion.

In 2012, the per capita CO2 emissions in the EU reached 7.4 tonnes, still 2.5 times as high as those of developing countries.

The global target of halving the share of the world population without access to safe drinking water by 2015 was achieved five years early in 2010. Nonetheless, 748 million people remained without access to an improved source of drinking water in 2012.